Muzzi’s half-court heave lifts Madonna
Blue Dons come back from 18-point deficit to stun Central
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WEIRTON -- In sports, the term 'Haily Mary' has long been associated with late game heroics on the football field.
After Friday night, Madonna fans and Blue Dons head coach George Vargo may well think of Luca Muzzi on a basketball court before anyone on the grid iron when they hear it in the future.
After being on the receiving end of an inbound pass with three seconds showing on the clock inside the Dube Dome near midcourt, Muzzi let a desperation heave towards the hoop go as the buzzer sounded.
Moments later he was being swarmed by teammates, coaches and fans after the shot fell through the hoop to give his Blue Dons a 65-63 victory.
"I was asked if I drew that play up, no I didn't -- Hail Mary did," Vargo said. "I said a Hail Mary (when he shot it) and she listened."
"This is a great rivalry between the two school and the two cities, the players on both sides went at it and played hard, diving for the ball. It was just a great game."
Muzzi, a senior, finished with a game-high 22 points. While he seemed like a likely candidate to be designed to take the shot had Vargo drawn it up, he said he stresses to his team for every player to be ready for such a moment, while also crediting the experience Muzzi brings.
"I tell these guys every day in practice, you never know who is going to get the last shot," Vargo said. "Don't think it's going to be (Anthony Mascio) every time, it could be the eighth guy (off the bench) that has the ball in their hands and has to make a decision. (Muzzi) made the decision to shoot, I know it was a lucky shot, but sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.
"He has played in a lot of big games and big moments."
As unlikely as a win seemed when the half-court shot was released, it seemed even less likely earlier in the night when Madonna (1-1) trailed by 18 points in the third quarter, its second such deficit of the game.
To their credit, though, the Dons did not go away. After the Crusaders (2-3) led by 12 after one and pushed the margin to 19 with a 7-0 run in the second quarter, Madonna went on a late 9-2 run and got the margin down to single digits before the Crusaders led by 11 at the break.
"We didn't play very good defense in the first half and they were hot from the outside," Vargo said. "I made a few adjustments at halftime and said a few things, I think it corrected some things. The second half we decided to pound it inside and get to the foul line."
After the teams traded buckets early in the third, Central's Evan Long (16 points) nailed back-to-back triples to spark a Central run that pushed the margin back to 18.
From there, though, the Dons got going, scoring the final 12 points of the quarter to pull within six going to the fourth. In the fourth, freshman Reid Wilharm knocked down a triple to cut the margin to three, Madonna ultimately taking its first lead 60-59 with 1:33 remaining on a pair of free throw makes by Chase Littleton, who finished with a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds).
Benji Rook (19 points) put Central back on top 61-60 with 1:06 left, before Littleton countered with a bucket for the Dons with :30 left.
It looked as though the Crusaders had struck last when Tommy Pergi connected on a set play on an inbound to make it 63-62 Crusaders with :08 left, but Muzzi had other plans.
"Like I told the boys in the locker room, we didn't lose that game (on Muzzi's shot), we lost that game with the way we played the second half," said Catholic Central assistant coach John Leary, who was filling in for head coach Don Ogden who missed the game recovering from a medical procedure. "We had poor shot selection, we didn't run our offense very well, we missed some easy shots. Everyone will look at the last two plays … the game wasn't lost there. It was lost with our shot selection and letting them get key rebounds late in the game (Madonna had a 29-18 advantage on the glass).
"A half-court shot with two seconds to go, I'm not sure there's any way to defend that without fouling him. He threw up the shot and, God Bless him, it went in. Give credit to Madonna, they did not go away. Coach Vargo is never going to let that happen. We told them when we were up at halftime it might as well be tied because they're going to keep playing hard.
"We have got to learn to play with a lead, we're playing the same offense whether were up 18 or down 18 right now. There's a big difference in the game in those situations and we have to mature and learn that if we're going to win big games."
COMING TOGETHER
The teams joined hands in a prayer circle following the game in a show of support for Ogden, who also used to coach at Madonna. A pregame prayer was also said for the coach.
"I hope he's feeling better soon," Vargo said. "We love coach Ogden, he coached here at Madonna and we hope the prayers help him.
"It was nice to see the teams come together to do that, that's what two Catholic schools should do. We should be together and show friendship, compassion and sportsmanship after the game."
Leary said Ogden plans to be able rejoin the Crusaders soon.
UP NEXT
Catholic Central: Hosts Bridgeport on Tuesday.
Madonna: Travels to Valley on Tuesday.
Madonna 65, Catholic Central 63
Catholic Central 27-13-12-11 – 63
Madonna 15-14-17-19 – 65
CATHOLIC CENTRAL (2-3): Long 5 2-2 16; Rook 8 1-2 19; Bolster 4 0-0 12; Pergi 2 0-0 4; Bradley 1 0-0 2; Rohde 2 2-2 6; Mihalyo 0 0-0 0; Hickey 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 24, 5-6; 63.
MADONNA (1-1): Mascio 6 1-2 16; Muzzi 8 4-5 22; Gontas 1 1-2 3; Littleton 5 5-13 15; Connors 0 1-2 1; DoBraska 0 0-0 0; Miller 1 0-0 2; Crossland 0 0-0 0; Wilharm 1 2-2 5. TOTALS: 22, 14-26; 65.
3-POINT GOALS: Catholic Central 10 (Long 4, Bolster 4, Rook 2); Madonna 5 (Mascio 3, Muzzi 2). ASSISTS: Catholic Central 18 (Long 5); Madonna 14 (Mascio 7). REBOUNDS: Catholic Central 18 (Bolster, Rohde 4); Madonna 29 (Littleton 10). TURNOVERS: Catholic Central 9; Madonna 12.